Are you tired of waiting for Firefox to launch? Firefox 3.5 had some serious startup issues. Some users had to wait several minutes until Firefox would appear. The reason was that Firefox would access temporary Windows and Internet Explorer files. With the release of Firefox 3.6, this specific issue was fixed. However, there are many more factors that influence the browser’s startup time.

If you would like to understand what is keeping Firefox so long to start up and how you can fix it, read on. In this article I will show you how to tune your browser for a quick startup. Most of these tips will also work in Firefox 4.

1. Toss Out Extensions

The more extensions you’re running, the slower Firefox will start up. Before it can run, it has to shoulder all active extensions like a backpack. The smaller the load, the faster it will be ready to run.

So take the time to go through your installed extensions (> Tools > Add-ons and select > Extensions in sidebar) and toss out the ones you never really use.

5. Trim Down Bookmarks

Apparently, the amount of bookmarks you have can extend Firefox’ startup time. Especially Live Bookmarks will slow it down as Firefox checks for the latest updates. So remove any Live Bookmarks you’re not really using and generally clean out the rest of your bookmarks. Mahendra recommends the CheckPlaces extension to scan for valid and duplicate bookmarks.

If you’re bold, you can remove all but your most-used bookmarks and move the rest to Delicious or a similar online / social bookmarking service. The Delicious Bookmarks add-on will help you keep in touch with your online bookmarks. Although using yet another extension is probably not very efficient.

6. Preload Firefox

So you don’t want to mess with about:config, you can’t part with any of your extensions, and you really, really need to restore a session of over 20 open tabs. Well, then your only hope is to preload Firefox on Windows startup. This may slow down your Windows startup a tiny little bit, but at least Firefox will pop up like it was never shut down.

Per default, Windows is already set to preload Internet Explorer, which is why it starts so quickly compared to Firefox. Preloader is a tool that loads parts of Firefox into Windows’ memory before you launch the browser. Naturally, this is not a Firefox extension, but a standalone utility that tweaks your Windows startup in favor of Firefox.

7. Defragment Places Database

Firefox 3.x stores bookmarks, history, and other storage information in a database called ‘Places’. Over time, this database becomes fragmented. Subsequently, defragmenting can speed up any browser process that needs to access the Places database, including the startup.

You can manually defragment the database, but since it’s a tedious task, I recommend an extension called Vacuum Places Improved. Every 30 Firefox starts, the Vacuum Places icon will appear in your statusbar. This is a reminder that you should click it to vacuum or rather defragment your Places database. You can also automate the process by checking > Automatically clean places in the extension’s settings window.

It is great post. ya firefox is fastest browser for internet use. also they providing facility of regular tools on taskbar which is very easy to user for acess. this browser important for SEO guys. but opera and google crome also fastest browser as compare to Firefox.Used commercial trucks

I am using Debian Linux with KDE 4.4 and while everything is nice and fast, my Iceweasel (rebranded Firefox without the Mozilla trademarks) and my (real, official) Firefox both take too long to start up. They're plenty speedy after they do start, of course. I was hoping for a solution to the slow startup, but alas, nope.

No problem that this is for Firefox on Windows, its just that I was directed here from a Linux and FLOSS news site, http://www.tuxmachines.org/ , and I was hoping it would be relevant. It wasn't. :)

Thanks for providing this helpful post. Although I thought that I had slimmed down the overhead of my FF and had it start-up quite fast, the above mentioned tips gave my system a little boost.Especially thanks for the tip re defragmentation of the places DB.

Thanks for providing this helpful post. Although I thought that I had slimmed down the overhead of my FF and had it start-up quite fast, the above mentioned tips gave my system a little boost.
Especially thanks for the tip re defragmentation of the places DB.

I knew Firefox used a database for storing stuff but it never crossed my mind to do some cleanup on it. I've had the same Firefox profile for a few years now having transferred it from each new computer and reinstall throughout the years.

I knew Firefox used a database for storing stuff but it never crossed my mind to do some cleanup on it. I've had the same Firefox profile for a few years now having transferred it from each new computer and reinstall throughout the years.

I am using Debian Linux with KDE 4.4 and while everything is nice and fast, my Iceweasel (rebranded Firefox without the Mozilla trademarks) and my (real, official) Firefox both take too long to start up. They're plenty speedy after they do start, of course. I was hoping for a solution to the slow startup, but alas, nope.

No problem that this is for Firefox on Windows, its just that I was directed here from a Linux and FLOSS news site, http://www.tuxmachines.org/ , and I was hoping it would be relevant. It wasn't. :)

I'm not sure what the problem is, I suspect that it's because Firefox is running from a removable drive. Did you use the Portable Apps Suite? Did you try an individual installation of Firefox Portable?

Concerning 5)The delicious-addon for FF3.6 is slowing down start-up for extra 20-30 seconds. I now rather go for their bookmarklet (http://fwd4.me/aga)which is doing the same but light weight and fast.

Concerning 5)
The delicious-addon for FF3.6 is slowing down start-up for extra 20-30 seconds.
I now rather go for their bookmarklet (http://fwd4.me/aga)which is doing the same but light weight and fast.

Tina is a freelance writer and editor, with a background in science and sustainability. At MUO, she's responsible for the Windows and Productivity sections. During her free time she enjoys live music and spending time in nature.